Species of Thailand

Asian bockadam

The New Guinea bockadam or dog-faced water snake, Cerberus rynchops, is a species of a colubrid snake found in coastal waters of Asia and Australia.

C. rynchops is commonly found in mangroves, mudflats, streams, ponds, tidal pools, on algae patches, and has even been found burrowing into the mud. C. rynchops is rear-fanged and is mildly venomous. An aquatic and nocturnal snake, it feeds mainly on fish and is known to consume eels.

In captivity, it is observed to move in a sidewinding direction on land. In the BBC series 'Life in Cold Blood' it was filmed adapting this sidewinding technique to jump across a mudflat in Singapore ( up until then no snakes were considered able to truly jump ). It also has a prehensile tail that would suggest it could climb mangrove trees. It is now known to give birth to live young, numbering from 8 to 30, either in water or on land.

It is a quite docile, mild-tempered and a hardy snake; in recent years it has become a welcome addition to snake hobbyists in the Philippines. It also owes its popularity to its bright yellow to orange belly coloring, mostly of females.

Description

The visibility of upper jaw, giving it a dog-like appearance. Head long and distinct from neck. Eyes small and beadly, with rounded pupil. Dorsum dark gray, with faint dark blotches and a dark line along the sides of the head, across the yes. Venter cream with two distinct rows of large, diffuse dark gray spots.

Asian bockadam is found in following locations in Thailand

Please note that this non-official list is not complete nor necessarily accurate. This list is a summary of checklists from other websites, blogs, publications, photo/videos published on various websites or our own findings. We appreciate your contributions with photo proof.

Important note; our range maps are generated automatically based on very limited data we have about the protected sites, the data is not necessarily accurate. Please help us to improve our range maps by sharing your findings/knowledge.